I'm back in San Ramon after a wonderful week in Nicaragua and northern Costa Rica!
On Saturday March 1st, we left San Ramon at 5 in the morning. After standing in a really long line to exit Costa Rica and waiting for a couple hours in the hot sun to enter Nicaragua, we finally made it across the border. Our first destination was Granada. As soon as we arrived at our hotel, we went to a restaurant for pizza. We took a late afternoon tour around the city by horse and carriage. Granada is a really old city (like 1500s old) and a lot of the architecture hasn't changed. It was beautiful. Across from our hotel was a large park with vendors selling handmade bracelets and pottery. My friends and I all got hair wraps. That evening a few of my friends and I walked to a bar. We sat outside and listened to some locals playing music on the street and watched some kids dressed up in masks and giant puppets dance. Nicaragua is full of culture. I had my first piña colada made from fresh pineapple and coconut. It was fantastic!
On Sunday, we went to Masaya Volcano National Park. We drove up the volcano to the top edge of the crater. Had there not been a lot of fog, we would have been able to see into the center of the volcano. It was amazing and also kind of scary since the volcano was active. But now I can say that I've been to the top of an active volcano! Afterwards we went to the Masaya Market. It was like a flea market with tons of vendors selling Nicaraguan stuff. It was definitely geared towards tourists but everything was pretty inexpensive. I regret not buying a hammock for 10 dollars! Once back in Granada (Masaya was about a 30 minute drive), we had dinner at a nice restaurant. I had some delicious pasta with a gorgonzola sauce. That night I walked to Lake Nicaragua with a couple of my friends and chatted and watched the stars.
On Monday, we left Granada and headed to San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. San Juan del Sur is a small beach town on the Pacific Ocean. I had the most delicious piña colada at a restaurant on the beach. It was perfect! That afternoon we took a boat to a secluded beach. We went swimming and watched the sun set over the Pacific.
On Tuesday, we left San Juan del Sur to go back to Costa Rica. Once again, it took us hours to get across the border. We spent the next two days at Buena Vista Lodge in Liberia, CR. This was my favorite place on the whole trip. I went zip-lining through the forest and saw howler monkeys and a few toucans!
On Wednesday, we went horseback riding to some thermal springs. Buena Vista built some pools that had hot springs water (from a volcano). We took a sauna and then covered ourselves in volcanic mud and spent a couple hours in the pools. That afternoon we took a sustainability tour of Buena Vista. They try to be as environmentally friendly and sustainable as possible. It's really cool! They make their own soap and laundry detergent, as well as using the methane from horse and cow manure to cook with. Pretty neat, huh? :) Our last adventure of the trip was a quarter mile long waterslide through the forest. My friends Julia, Olivia, and I walked to a Sunset Bar (a bar at Buena Vista that overlooked the mountains and ocean) to watch the sunset. I had the most disgusting piña colada ever. How someone can completely ruin one beats me but they sure did! This was the last night of our trip. On Thursday, we headed back to San Ramon.
I had a blast on this spring break trip! Just being in Costa Rica is a vacation (even though I am going to school) and I also get two spring breaks. I have a ton of pictures of my adventures, so be sure to check them out on Facebook!
Pura Vida!
On Saturday March 1st, we left San Ramon at 5 in the morning. After standing in a really long line to exit Costa Rica and waiting for a couple hours in the hot sun to enter Nicaragua, we finally made it across the border. Our first destination was Granada. As soon as we arrived at our hotel, we went to a restaurant for pizza. We took a late afternoon tour around the city by horse and carriage. Granada is a really old city (like 1500s old) and a lot of the architecture hasn't changed. It was beautiful. Across from our hotel was a large park with vendors selling handmade bracelets and pottery. My friends and I all got hair wraps. That evening a few of my friends and I walked to a bar. We sat outside and listened to some locals playing music on the street and watched some kids dressed up in masks and giant puppets dance. Nicaragua is full of culture. I had my first piña colada made from fresh pineapple and coconut. It was fantastic!
On Sunday, we went to Masaya Volcano National Park. We drove up the volcano to the top edge of the crater. Had there not been a lot of fog, we would have been able to see into the center of the volcano. It was amazing and also kind of scary since the volcano was active. But now I can say that I've been to the top of an active volcano! Afterwards we went to the Masaya Market. It was like a flea market with tons of vendors selling Nicaraguan stuff. It was definitely geared towards tourists but everything was pretty inexpensive. I regret not buying a hammock for 10 dollars! Once back in Granada (Masaya was about a 30 minute drive), we had dinner at a nice restaurant. I had some delicious pasta with a gorgonzola sauce. That night I walked to Lake Nicaragua with a couple of my friends and chatted and watched the stars.
On Monday, we left Granada and headed to San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. San Juan del Sur is a small beach town on the Pacific Ocean. I had the most delicious piña colada at a restaurant on the beach. It was perfect! That afternoon we took a boat to a secluded beach. We went swimming and watched the sun set over the Pacific.
On Tuesday, we left San Juan del Sur to go back to Costa Rica. Once again, it took us hours to get across the border. We spent the next two days at Buena Vista Lodge in Liberia, CR. This was my favorite place on the whole trip. I went zip-lining through the forest and saw howler monkeys and a few toucans!
On Wednesday, we went horseback riding to some thermal springs. Buena Vista built some pools that had hot springs water (from a volcano). We took a sauna and then covered ourselves in volcanic mud and spent a couple hours in the pools. That afternoon we took a sustainability tour of Buena Vista. They try to be as environmentally friendly and sustainable as possible. It's really cool! They make their own soap and laundry detergent, as well as using the methane from horse and cow manure to cook with. Pretty neat, huh? :) Our last adventure of the trip was a quarter mile long waterslide through the forest. My friends Julia, Olivia, and I walked to a Sunset Bar (a bar at Buena Vista that overlooked the mountains and ocean) to watch the sunset. I had the most disgusting piña colada ever. How someone can completely ruin one beats me but they sure did! This was the last night of our trip. On Thursday, we headed back to San Ramon.
I had a blast on this spring break trip! Just being in Costa Rica is a vacation (even though I am going to school) and I also get two spring breaks. I have a ton of pictures of my adventures, so be sure to check them out on Facebook!
Pura Vida!